Keep the shiny side up
Mar 22 '05 (Updated Mar 26 '05)
The Bottom Line -
Like the title says - keep the shiny side up. Succinct though it may be, that’s the best advice I can offer when it comes to motorcycle safety.
We all have our own mantras about safety yet there are still so many accidents occurring daily. Motorcycle accidents are often much more severe than car accidents and responsible riders owe it to themselves to take safety one step further than people driving cars. We need to not only watch our backs – we need to watch everyone else’s too.
Some of this advice will be the ‘do as I say, not as I do’ type of advice. I will tell you when I’m giving advice that I myself do not follow and I’ll let you know my reasons for not heeding it. In the end, I’m just hoping to pass on a few tips that might make a difference in how you ride.
Qualifications
I learned how to ride when I was fifteen. In a feat of staggering stupidity I got on a motorcycle (without the slightest clue how to operate it) and rode twenty miles through heavy and unforgiving traffic and nearly got myself killed a few times. It was all in the name of impressing a girl. Since that fateful day I’ve owned eight motorcycles and probably ridden close to a hundred. I’ve never had the benefit of formal training. Everything I learned was the hard way. It’s been close to twenty years since that first ride and I’ve had bikes pretty consistently ever since. A couple of years here and there slipped by without any riding but in the past ten years I’ve always had a bike, or two, or three…
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Great book – bummer about Chris getting killed, sorry - I’m wandering. Okay, let’s talk about maintenance. Taking care of your bike is the easiest thing you can do to buy a little peace of mind. Start with the tires. There’s only two of ‘em and they’re the only things keeping you from the blacktop so go ahead and inspect them every time you go riding. Get yourself a little cardboard tread depth indicator (free at almost all tire stores) and familiarize yourself with your tires’ tread specs. Know well ahead of time when they’re getting near the end of their useful life. Check the sidewalls for damage too. Read your owner’s manual and check to make sure the tires are inflated to the proper PSI per the manual. If you have a chain final drive, check it for tension and grease. If you don’t know how to do this, learn. If you can’t / won’t learn make sure your mechanic inspects it at every oil change. Check your clutch and brake fluid reservoirs. Visually inspect your brake pads. Change your oil, filter and air filter on schedule as recommended. Check all your lights and horn too. Lastly make sure your mirrors are positioned properly for you. If you have ‘cool’ aftermarket mirrors that don’t work (most of them don’t) ditch them and put the stockers back on. These several items alone are a huge part in ensuring your safety before you even start the bike up and there’s no excuse for overlooking these things. I check, and / or stay on top of these items with all the due diligence they deserve.
Take it from a pro
If you’re new to riding go ahead and sign up for lessons. I’m sure you can find a good local company to teach you how to ride safely. The most well known source is the Motorcycle Safety Foundation which can be contacted online at www.msf-usa.org – they’re a great resource for new riders. You learn to ride safely on their bikes and they’ll help you learn what you need to know about real world riding conditions as well as what you need to know about passing the road test to obtain a motorcycle drivers license. I myself have not taken any of these courses. I learned to ride when I was invincible and there was no convincing me at fifteen (or seventeen when it was finally legal for me to be riding / driving) that I needed lessons. After twenty years I would get no benefit from such a course, although not having to learn things the hard way (like me) should be incentive enough for you to take one of these courses if you’re just starting out.
Dress for success
Wearing proper clothing is a big part of safety. Incidents that might leave you limping for a few days if you’re dressed properly could leave you disfigured and long term maimed if you’re not dressed properly. For everyday riding I recommend blue jeans for starters. Boots are the best for foot protection but I myself wear sneakers if I’m just putting around town. Long trips will have me in boots though. A leather jacket is the smartest things to wear to protect your arms, chest and back. I live in the tropics and that’s not really an option for me most of the year. I wear T-shirts mostly which is not recommended – but like I started with, some of this is ‘do as I say, not as I do’ type of advice. Gloves are a good idea if you’ll be riding on the highway. A bug or pebble kicked up by a truck that hits yours knuckles at 30 MPH is annoying and stings a little bit. At 75 MPH it may just break a finger and could cause you to lose control. A good pair of leather gloves will soften the blow quite a bit. Eye protection is an absolute must. The wind buffeting your eyes will make them tear and blur your vision, not to mention the whole bug or pebble thing again. Always, always, always wear eye protection. I always have my sunglasses on and for night riding I have a pair of clear and a pair of yellow KDs. KDs are a popular, and cheap, brand of plastic sunglasses sold in most bike stores. They’re the rectangular (and usually dark smoke tinted) glasses you see a lot of Harley guys wearing. At five bucks a pair I always have a half dozen pair lying around. Helmets are an essential item too. There are half, three quarter and full face helmets to choose from. Check for snell and DOT approvals / ratings on any helmet you’re considering purchasing. The difference between an accident with and without a helmet is the difference between living and dying. Even if you live in a state without a lid law you really ought to wear a helmet at least for the first few years that you’re riding. Do I wear a helmet? I do if I’m going on a long trip (100 or more miles) or if any part of my trip will include highway time. Outside of that I don’t. No excuse, no explanations. I just don’t like them and living in a state that doesn’t legally require them gives me the option of being as stupid as I want. Should you wear a helmet? Yes.
The attitude
No, not the easyrider attitude. The paranoid biker attitude. You need to be more alert than usual when riding. In my typical daily routine I have always found that I’m more in tune with my surroundings than most people are. I’m not sure if that stems from twenty years of riding or if that’s why I’ve made it twenty years without a single accident on the bike. I think I’ve always been like this. When I’m having a conversation with someone I’m also listening intently to the conversation of the people at the next table. My peripheral vision is always at defcon five and I find myself watching other drivers and predicting there upcoming moves well ahead of time. When I’m on the bike all this intensifies that much more. Always be aware of who’s behind you, next to you or coming at you. Keep constant track of their speed and distance. How long would it take for them to reach you if they steered straight at you? Do you have room and time to react? Are they on the cell phone? Do they tend to drift while driving? Can you ‘tell’ if he’s one of those people who makes right turns from the left lane without using his blinker? Constantly gauge these, and many more, variables as you’re riding. It may take a little forced training to get on the same wavelength as these other drivers but once you do it will be second nature to you.
Some basic rules
Always assume everyone is an idiot who can’t see you. Never tailgate. When you see a driveway slow down and pass it at the farthest point in your lane from the driveway possible. Never follow behind a truck. Don’t ‘split lanes’ – riding between lanes of traffic during a traffic jam. Use your hand signals – again assuming that no one sees you. Do not cut people off or engage in any other fun bouts of road rage. Come to complete stops at all traffic light and stop signs. Again the reason here is the assumption that other drivers do not see you. Do not ride in the rain if you can help it. If you must make sure you have experience and the proper rain gear. If it’s your first time, remember that the difference between two wheels and four is that on two wheels on a wet road you probably will skid and fall if you don’t know what you’re doing. Slow down in the rain. Do your best to always create the largest possible bubble around you when you’re riding. Don’t tailgate or permit others to tailgate you. Never stop short – locking up the brakes on a bike will scare the crap out of you the first time it happens. Stay far away from elderly drivers. (did he actually say that out loud?) Damn right I did. If you see some white knuckles wrapped around the steering wheel of an Oldsmobile it’s time to get out of Dodge. Dulled senses and slowed reaction times can be hazardous to your health. I used to think riding in Manhattan was a hair raising experience until I moved to south Florida. In ‘season’ when the roads are filled with elderly drivers it’s much scarier than a herd of angry cabbies in NYC. Much of this is common sense but I’m always amazed at how many bikers I see on a daily basis violating some or many of these rules. It isn’t hard to adjust you’re riding habits to follow these guidelines and after a while this too will be second nature to you.
The lowest common denominator
Okay here’s the obvious one. Over the years I’ve probably known over a hundred people who ride. Many (a lot more than half) have been involved in some sort of accident on their bikes at some point. I never have, but I’m a rare exception. Most (okay all) claim it wasn’t there fault. It’s hard to say with certainty who was at fault in most of these accidents so I won’t attempt to assign blame. But there is a common factor. Alcohol. None of them were admittedly drunk, but just about all drank before riding. In fact the overwhelming majority had only one or two beers and then went for a ride later in the day when the accident occurred – “the fucker came outta nowhere and broadsided me” or something along those lines is typical. In fairness I do believe most of these folks who insist they weren’t impaired. But the underlying link remains regardless. Most people (bikers) I know have been involved in an accident on their bike. Most of those people had consumed some quantity of alcohol the day of the accident. I have never had anything to drink on a day that I was going riding and I have made it twenty years without an accident. Some will insist it’s a coincidence. Maybe it is – but I’m not about to test the theory. Be smart. Don’t drink and ride.
That’s all the safety advice I have to offer. Be smart. Be safe – and remember to keep the shiny side up.
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Member: Jason
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The pool's in but the patio ain't dry
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